Way back in the day...Okay, pride aside, I think I run a pretty damn good game. Every time I announce that I've got a new campaign starting, I always get more applicants than I've got space in the campaign. I've had players after me for a long time to publicize Avamor in some way - either by publication in DRAGON Magazine, or by submitting stuff to TSR for use as an accessory, adventure, what have you. Some material I wouldn't mind seeing in DRAGON - like the spell level charts. But most of the material I've created is pretty exclusive to Avamor. And the idea of putting this stuff up as ftp-only text files violated my aesthetic senses. The WWW seemed ideal. Of course, I had to learn html...
I went over all the material about AD&D and similar games that I could find on the net. Several things I noticed: 1) The most useful parts about other people's home brew campaigns were new spells, NPCs, countries, religions (and gods), and house rules; 2) There's a lot of material out there on new spells and house rules; 3) There's hardly anything available on useful or complete NPCs, countries, religions, and deities; and 4) I had a fair amount of good NPCs, countries, religions, and deities that fellow DMs were using in their own campaigns. At the very least, my work was a good source of inspiration for others. So, I decided to test the waters.
Enter the great net purge of all home-brew AD&D material, just as I was getting ready to take the plunge. I'd been warming up by submitting tiny bits here and there to one or two FAQs, and I think I even had some stuff I posted on rec.games.frp.dnd appear in a netbook. I'm not going to rehash that period of Internet Hell. Let's just say I wasn't about to take the chance of losing ownership of my own work, however little or much of it was derived from the published AD&D game system, to a poorly-worded and extremely unfriendly net policy and required disclaimer. The last thing I needed was a legal battle over electronic copyright and/or trademark infringement - the grayest area of the already charcoal copyright/trademark legalities. (Being a tech writer at the time, I understood the difference between copying huge sections of published work and posting them on the net - the entire spells section of the PHB, for instance - and creating and posting my own work based on the AD&D system. The former is illegal as hell, and any company is justified in crucifying the SOBs responsible.)
That's all ancient electronic history now. The net policy was loosened a bit, TSR was bought by Wizards of the Coast, and the net policy was trashed in favor of a much, much, much friendlier and reasonable one. I credit Sean K. Reynolds for mollifying TSR's antagonistic net policy. I don't know the full story over there at TSR; this is just my opinion. So I started back to work on putting my own stuff up and seeing if people liked it or not.
Well, people seemed to like it. The release of 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons began a new era of RPGs, with the use of the Open Gaming License (OGL) and the D20 system. This brought out a plethora of personal and commercial sites, all contributing to a game system that has evolved closer to what it should've been in the first place: Many voices, one song, no lawyers. This is not to say that 3E (and the later 3.5 Edition) doesn't have its faults.
When 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons came out, I was at first ecstatic. Then I read the Core Rules in more detail, and my jaw hit the floor. Modifying Avamor to fit within the 4E mechanics and cosmology would mean re-writing about a third of the campaign setting. Plus, there was no conversion method to get from 3.5E to 4E. There are just too many significant changes to the underlying 4E mechanics to support Avamor. So barring a sudden inspiration, the creation of a conversion pathway, or the scrapping of Avamor and restarting (no, this is not the Forgotten Realms), Avamor will be staying 3.5E plus houserules.
Don't get me wrong - 4E looks like a cool system. I would love to DM a couple of one-shots, or even play in a 4E game. But not in Avamor.
Other sites look nicer than mine, others offer more useful information. Still others are promoting published, polished work that I admire (check out my Links section). I'm not doing this for money. I'm doing this for fun, to encourage more people to try this hobby, to improve my and other players' DMing and playing skills. It also keeps my hand in the html :). I hope you continue to find this sight useful.
Good gaming!
A number of tools have been used to create and maintain this site:
(The Living Lich, Psycho Boy, The Office Axe Murderer, Lone Wolf, Hey You, That Guy with the Pony Tail, Ghodd - not the God, but A Ghodd)
Climate/Terrain: Gaming tables, Computers, Wilderness (rarely)
Frequency: Unique (we hope)
Organization: DM
Activity Cycle: Varies (dependent on current supply of caffeinated sugarwater)
Diet: Exotic Omnivore - Gourmet (prefers to cook for himself)
Intelligence: Genius (17-18) (Really, guys! IQ tested at 172)
Treasure: None (As if I'd tell you)
Alignment: CG (Sadistic)
No. Appearing: 1 (If more appear, have head examined)
AC: 7
Mv: 12"
HD: 3
Hp: 16
THACO: 16
# Att: 1 (sword, fist, kick), or 2 (bow)
Dmg/Att: By weapon
SA: Does not fight fair
SD: He looks crazier than he really is. Probably.
MR: Doesn't believe in magic
Size: M (6'1")
Ml: Fearless (20)
XPV: NA
Age: 28 years (est.)
Began Gaming: 1983
Games Played: D&D/AD&D, Star Frontiers, Battletech, Shadowrun, Vampire, StarFleet Battles, Traveller, RIFTS, GURPS, etc.
DOB: CLASSIFIED
Profession: Technical Writer
Hobbies: Sadistic Bastard DM, Psychotic Role-Player
Habits: Let me check my notes.
[and anal-retentive does have a hyphen --Jade]
Favorite Food: Anything with lots of garlic (see below).
Favorite Phrase: "MUHAHAHAHAHA!!!" accompanied by moans of pain and screams of agony.
Favorite Music: Classical, Rock & Roll, Heavy Metal, Techno, and just about anything by Enya.
The Guardian is a tall, slender creature of human appearance. Most frequently found near gaming tables or computers, the Guardian has also been sighted in parks and forests, disguised as a camper. Despite its appearance, the Guardian is rumored to be a quite peaceable creature, showing unusual patience and tolerance. Indeed, all attempts by numerous parties to drive this entity insane have failed. Or it could be an act. With the Guardian, it's difficult to tell.
Its combat abilities are poor, but it makes up for this lack by using every dirty trick in the book, plus a few it made up on its own. Appearance aside, the Guardian is stronger than it looks and very agile (Dex 17). Possessing uncanny accuracy with ranged attacks, the Guardian's preferred method of combat, it is quite capable of annoying opponents into submission.
The Guardian has some skill with longsword and shield, having spent a fair amount of time with the Society for Creative Anachronism "getting the $#!^ beat out of me once a week by guys using barn doors as shields." The creature also has had training in jiu-jitsu and karate. It has an amazing tolerance for pain (well-documented) and takes -2hp/die of damage as a result. The Guardian has survived all illnesses, injuries and medical conditions - often in spite of the doctors' beliefs (also well-documented). There is reason to suspect that the Guardian is truly immortal, in the sense that it is unkillable. It evidences some ability to regenerate (1 hp/turn), though this has not been officially confirmed.
Since the Guardian is a member of that secret society known as "The DMs", adventurers are well advised to tread lightly on sighting it. Its magical powers, in spite of its own personal beliefs, surpass that of most greater gods. These powers are seldom used, however, and are often the subject of legend among the longer-lived races.
The Guardian, being a unique creature, has no true society. It lives on the fringes of Human realms, often passing unnoticed save for its distinctive, gangly walk. The Guardian lacks the ability to blend in with mainstream society since it possesses more imagination and individuality than the vast majority of "sheep." Surprisingly, the Guardian does not get along well with writer Harlan Ellison (whom the Guardian has heard at a conference, but never formally met), in spite of the fact that both have been called "Elitists" by people who have met, or at least listened to, both. As a result, the entity has been relegated to what government officials term "the harmless fringes of society." Government surveillance and background checks have not revealed anything suspicious about the Guardian. Yet.
The Guardian is a loner by choice and nature. It will occasionally share its lair with a trusted friend, though this is extremely rare. The creature can sometimes be found in the company of other unique or unusual individuals. But even among fringe groups, the Guardian is rarely seen. It achieved some small portion of fame for a few years after running "The Dungeon", an 11 level Monty-Haul, Anything Goes, Bring Your Own Gods - You'll Need Their Help, Just-For-Fun, Munchkin-fest dungeon crawl that lived up to its reputation of being able to handle anything the players could throw at it, including the antics of a Faerie Dracolich and a Thessal-Beholder-Rust-Carrion-Crawler-Monster. The horned demon body-builders, Hanz and Franz, and the sword whose special purpose was to slay the Lawful Evil alignment ("Do You Know Any Gods?" is still a terror-phrase among participants) were particularly popular.
The easiest method for detecting the Guardian is to examine medical records for that 5% that contains more than twelve medical anomalies. The second easiest method is to catch sight of it in a crowd. The Guardian stands out, especially when walking, pacing, or irritated (in which case, witnesses state that their belief in the rumors of homicidal psychotic tendencies grows). Very near-sighted, and with unusual dietary requirements, it can also be found in the gourmet sections of grocery stores and supermarkets, conducting lengthy examinations of the produce and meats before selecting particularly choice bits. Among its circle of allies, the Guardian is known as an excellent cook, although what it considers to be appropriate amounts of garlic would fatally constipate a goat. The creature was once overheard to say, "The only restaurant that serves the right amount of garlic is The Stinking Rose in San Francisco. Ahhh! That was heaven!" Its recipe for chicken stew has been published in at least one cookbook, and is regarded by many as the perfect cure for a head cold after doubling the listed amounts of pepper and garlic.
The Guardian regards itself as a creator and dreamer, and is currently involved in trying to get a book (science fiction) published. This may, in fact, be nothing more than protective coloration, since the entity is also a very private individual and is loathe to divulge any useful information about itself, even to emergency room doctors.
The best way to annoy the Guardian is to espouse political correctness or extreme left-wing feminism. This is a risky undertaking, as a number of university professors have learned to their regret. As it turns out, the Guardian regards political correctness as "the single worst thing to ever happen to any language, any where, at any time. It should be kicked to death and stomped out. It's evil incarnate."
Everthing in the above text that you think is true probably isn't; everything that you think is false probably is. You can find out more about Guardian by reading this site's FAQ.